Fresh nibble rekindles deal for pier restaurant

ANNIE MARTIN, Staff Writer

Tuesday

Mar 1, 2011 at 12:01 AMAug 15, 2012 at 12:13 PM

FLAGLER BEACH -- A local businessman may still be in the running to operate the Flagler Pier restaurant.

It appeared Raymond Barshay and the Flagler Beach City Commission were at an impasse Thursday at the end of a lengthy discussion about the pier lease. But at least one commissioner says Barshay called her over the weekend to talk about the deal.

The two parties disagreed on numerous points of the potential lease during last week's commission meeting. That list grew after city commissioners voted to build a lifeguard tower that will obstruct diners' southern view.

Commissioners had voted earlier in the month not to build the tower, which has been in the works for some time.

Barshay said at the meeting that he was concerned about safety but the location of the tower would hurt his profits. He did not return a phone call or e-mail Monday seeking comment.

The commission is scheduled to discuss the pier restaurant lease during a workshop Thursday. A special meeting also has been scheduled immediately following the workshop.

Commissioner Jane Mealy said she's hopeful the city could still ink a deal with Barshay after speaking with him over the weekend.

"If you had asked me on Friday, I would have said, 'No, he's going to back out,' " Mealy said. "But the fact that he called me (Sunday) tells me he's still interested."

Mealy said she asked Barshay to go through the lease and identify which parts he doesn't like.

She said Barshay told her he thinks the proposed monthly base rent of $3,000 is too high but hasn't proposed an alternate figure.

Barshay also said he thinks his rent should increase 2 percent per year after the first two years, rather than the proposed 3 percent, Mealy said.

In addition, Mealy said Barshay told her he visited the pier on Saturday and planned to return on Sunday to try to gauge the potential impact of the lifeguard tower.

Vice Chair Ron Vath said it sounds like Barshay's been "doing a lot of soul searching" since last week's commission meeting.

Vath, who was not present at last week's meeting, said he didn't speak with Barshay over the weekend. After hearing about the decision to build the tower, Vath said he didn't think it likely Barshay would want to be the city's tenant.

"I thought there was an 80 percent chance he'd walk away," Vath said.

Vath is not running for re-election next week so he won't be on the commission to see the end of the deal. But Vath said he questions Barshay's ethics because he didn't tell the commission he objected to the 3 percent annual increases in his rent or a lack of parking until recently.

"I'm starting to think he's really not negotiating in good faith here," Vath said. "It seems like we've put things to bed and he's brought them up again."

Aside from those issues, Barshay said he doesn't want to operate the bait and tackle shop because he fears he will lose money. But a few other groups have approached the city saying they might be willing to take that on.

That includes Jeffrey and Carol Fisher, who own the BeachHouse Beanery coffee shop.

Carol Fisher said it's "premature to discuss it" while the city is still negotiating with Barshay, but they would be interested.

Fisher said they haven't yet determined which products they could offer there.

"Our understanding is just selling bait and tackle doesn't cover the expenses," she said. "We were considering that we would sell other things."

The city still has about a year before current owner Katalin Meyer's lease expires. But if the city isn't going to hook a deal with Barshay, it should start advertising the open space soon, Mealy said.

"I don't want to be left a year from now with an empty restaurant," she said.

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